Glass in Green Buildings: A Window to a Better World with Architect Anupama Mohanram

Anupama is an architect with a passion for environmental sustainability who battles climate change through her design. She is the Co-Founder of Green Evolution, a multidisciplinary firm that designs and builds earth-friendly environments by providing sustainable solutions and strategies.

Architect Anupama in her recent webinar with Glass Academy highlighted the role of Glass in Green Buildings through her award-winning projects as captivating case studies while addressing some of the most pressing questions around environmental sustainability.

Let’s explore the window of opportunities architectural glass offers in paving the way toward a greener future!

Architectural glass is a glass that is specifically designed and used in the building construction industry. It is a top-quality, high-performance, value-adding building material that is used in both interior and exterior applications to provide various solutions to enhance design and visual appeal, energy efficiency, safety and security, privacy, acoustics, and aesthetics.

Architectural Glass: A Catalyst for Sustainability

Commencing the webinar, Anupama began debunking the common myths around glass and explained how thoughtful use of the right architectural glass in the right spaces can contribute to the greater benefit of the building making it one of the most sustainable building materials.

Further, she highlighted the significance of architectural glass in connecting us to the outside world and bringing an abundance of natural light into the built spaces. She delved into various strategies to minimize heat gain ranging from the use of insulated glass to solar control glass that uses low-E (emissivity) coatings that drastically reduce the heat gain.

Moreover, she pointed out the important factors such as Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC), U-Value, Visible Light Transmittance (VLT), and Color when selecting architectural glass, emphasizing their crucial role in achieving energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

• SHGC or The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient quantifies the portion of solar energy entering a house through windows, doors, or skylights, encompassing both direct transmission and absorption, which is later emitted as heat indoors.
• U-Value of glass represents its heat loss rate thereby indicating the efficacy of heat retention. A lower U-value translates to superior thermal efficiency in the glass, ensuring better preservation of warmth within a space.
• VLT is the amount of light that can pass through a given piece of glass.

Showcasing Green Excellence

Drawing from her extensive portfolio, Anupama showcased a few of her award-winning green projects that have garnered LEED GOLD certification. She began by introducing the project – The Palmyra, an earth-friendly IT building located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu which won a 2022 Construction Industry Award for the Best Green Building.

Source: Green Evolution

Source: Green Evolution

She illustrated the strategic use of architectural glass that played a pivotal role in ensuring views, natural light, and ventilation through large double-glazed solar control glass windows that are 50% operable, combined with metal jalis in a few areas & landscaping (with drip irrigation) that contributed in reducing energy consumption and ensured thermal comfort to the occupants in the workspace.

Further, Anupama introduced her next award-winning project – Integrated Central Command and Control Centre for Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), a sustainable green building located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which was recognised as the greenest government building in India by the IGBC.

Source: Green Evolution

Source: Green Evolution

Keeping in mind the heritage of the adjacent Ripon Building, Anupama explained the usage of glass in creating a striking facade with a contemporary touch while also considering the historic context of the site. Similar to The Palmyra, she employed double-glazed solar control glass windows that are complemented with roof overhangs and vertical fins that ensure adequate levels of natural light throughout the workspaces without heat ingress. She further elaborated on the central atrium designed with BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) skylight to bring light to the central core of the building while producing energy to offset the building’s electricity requirements. BIPV or Building Integrated Photovoltaics are construction elements or systems that generate solar power and can be integrated into the building facades or roofs.

Challenging Misconceptions and Embracing Innovation

In this Glass Academy Webinar’s concluding Q&A session, Architect Anupama answered some of the most frequently asked questions in the construction and design industry. She addressed some prevalent misconceptions surrounding green buildings such as the common assumption of green buildings being expensive without understanding the life-cycle cost saving in the long run.

Anupama further highlighted the evolving landscape of glass technology that looks promising for the future of green building design. She elaborated on the types of glass coatings that are continuously being produced to improve the performance of glass in the areas of reducing heat ingress and improving light and clear views while controlling the amount of reflection from the inside that is caused by the application of these coatings.

By debunking myths and showcasing the latest advancements in the field, she emphasized the importance of embracing sustainable practices in architectural design. Anupama reminded the role and responsibility of designers in conserving and protecting natural resources while designing spaces/buildings that not only contribute to global ecosystems but also improve the health and well-being of its occupants.

Moreover, she justified the growing need for taking conscious steps towards environmental sustainability and substantiated the role of architects and designers in combating accelerated climate change through green building practices and design strategies that help create a healthier and greener world for future generations.

Architect Anupama Mohanram’s webinar on “Glass in Green Buildings: A Window to a Better World” serves as an inspiration for architects, designers, and sustainability enthusiasts. Her insightful discourse and examples showcase the contributions of high-performance glass in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to climate change by reducing energy consumption, harnessing renewable energy, enhancing occupant comfort and well-being, and promoting sustainable green practices throughout the operational lifespan of the buildings.

Anupama’s webinar with Glass Academy reaffirmed the pivotal role of architectural glass in shaping a brighter, greener, and sustainable tomorrow.

Interview by – Anvitha Ravipati